Jayam Krishna Iyer, MD, 66, pleaded guilty to one count of healthcare fraud Sept. 18, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida.
Here's what you should know:
1. Dr. Iyer owned and operated Clearwater, Fla.-based Creative Medical Center, a pain management clinic.
2. Dr. Iyer is accused of falsely billing Medicare for face-to-face visits with patients who never visited her office or underwent examinations from July 2011 through December 2017. She allegedly falsified EMRs to make it seem like those patients did visit the office.
3. She also reportedly wrote illegal prescriptions in the beneficiaries' names and gave them to the patients' family members. The prescriptions included ones for Schedule II controlled substances like oxycodone.
4. Prosecutors allege Dr. Iyer submitted at least $51,500 of false and fraudulent Medicare claims.
5. Dr. Iyer faces up to 20 years in federal prison. Under the plea deal, she will forfeit her DEA registration number and her Florida medical license, and be permanently excluded from Medicare and Medicaid programs.
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